Nothing Changed at All
by Mein Liebling
Summary: 'This is wrong.' he thought, although for the life of him he didn't know how or why. 'This is wrong.' / AU: Being the Master of Death gives you unexpected perks that you don't know of.


_(when you close your eyes_

_does it almost feel like nothing changed at all)_

_._

* * *

.

He woke up with a pain in his heart, and Harry sat up straight in his cupboard and let out pained gasps and rubbed his chest. His eyes were accustomed to the dark light, even without his shoddy pair of glasses, but he couldn't explain why as soon as he saw his cupboard his heart started to beat painfully fast and his hand left his heart to grip the side of his mattress with the other. Harry fumbled for his glasses and shoved them over his eyes, and in the darkness he could now make out his small body (why did he feel like he was bigger?) and his crayon pictures from several weeks ago taped onto the wall.

_'This is wrong.' _he thought, although for the life of him he didn't know how or why. _'This is wrong.'_

_(welcome back to the beginning boy, you better get used to it)_

.

* * *

_._

Harry moved mechanically throughout his routine that week, jumping at small noises (or not so small) that the Dursleys made. He kept on reaching for something he didn't know that wasn't there, and words that were on the tip of his tongue wouldn't be said, no matter how much he racked his brain. Dudley didn't notice, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon did, and Harry found himself avoiding a frying pan to his head after he had run too much water when he was washing the dishes and had let it go over.

"Whatever you're thinking of, boy, you better stop it." Uncle Vernon threatened him. "I will not tolerate you wasting water!"

_(there are ways to get rid of him, you know. you don't need him here)_

.

* * *

.

Harry was nearly eleven when Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon took him to the zoo for Dudley's birthday. He was smiling happily as he roamed around all the exhibits, trailing behind Dudley and Piers. He figured that this was probably one of the best days of his life.

"Dad! Make it move!" Dudley pointed at a large sleeping snake behind glass. Uncle Vernon rapped smartly on the glass, but the snake only blinked open it's eyes.

"Ugh!" Dudley complained. "It's so boring. Let's find something cooler." He said to Piers, who nodded, and they set out down farther through the exhibit.

Harry couldn't help the stab of pity that went through him. "I'm sorry about him." he apologized to the animal. "You must get people like that all day. It must be very annoying."

The snake nodded.

"Where are you from?" Harry asked curiously. The snake pointed it's tail at the sign next to it's cage, and Harry read it quickly. "Brazil? Was it nice there?"

The snake pointed at the sign again. "Raised in captivity? I'm sorry. I hope one day you'll get to go to Brazil." The snake gave him another nod.

"Dad!" Dudley yelled. "Dad! Look at the snake- it's moving!" He pushed Harry to the ground and leaned his face forward. "Out of the way, you!"

Dudley leaned in closer and closer- until he screamed. "There's no glass!"

The snake struck. Rapidly passing by Dudley, who screamed as it moved past him, the snake slithered out of the cage and out into the screaming throng of people.

_'Thankssss amigo.'_

Harry was frozen on the floor as it past him.

_(somethings never change, but you can use this to your advantage. it wouldn't be the first time)_

_._

* * *

_._

Hagrid looked down at him and smiled. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Harry's eyes were wide. Everything had felt so wrong for _weeks, _and now that he was in Diagon something seemed to _click _together, the missing piece he was looking for all those days ago when he woke up with his heart aching in his cupboard.

"Ya'll be wantin' to go to Gringotts first, that's where 'em wizards keep their money. Safest place around." Hagrid beamed.

"A-Alright. Hagrid, afterwards, could we first go get my wand?"

Hagrid didn't seem surprised. "'f course Harry! We can go get your wand."

As he later held up his wand in his hand, warmth coursing through his fingers but the knowledge of it being the Dark Lord's brother wand keeping it from warming him all the way through, Harry figured that he finally found what he was reaching for, although how he knew he was reaching for his wand he had no idea.

Hagrid coughed after they exited the shop. "How 'bout ya go get yer clothes? I think I need a little pick me up, ya know, after Gringotts."

Harry nodded, planning to enjoy his freedom. "Sure Hagrid! And thank you, for everything."

Hagrid ruffled Harry's hair. "'f course, Harry."

_(think of all the things you can do with your wand know, we can get a headstart this time too. that'd be lovely, wouldn't it?)_

_._

* * *

_._

The girl from the train, Hermione, was mumbling spells quickly, and Ron was hastily trying to wipe his face. Harry was paralyzed in his shoes, hands clammy and uncertain about what to do. _'What if they send me back? What if this is all a joke?' _he panicked.

Then McGonagall arrived and Harry slumped over even further in the line as they all marched towards the Great Hall, and there was no way for him to run now.

_(you're far more of a coward this time, maybe Hufflepuff would work best)_

.

* * *

.

Harry was in Gryffindor and having the time of his life casting spells, running around the castle, and for once he had something precious to him; friends. He was alright, for the most part, at Hogwarts, living his life freely (or more freely from the Dursleys), going to class, and most importantly, eating great food.

Maybe Ron rubbed off on him too much. Maybe.

Just as Harry was going to raise the first bite of luscious Treacle Tart into his mouth, the Great Hall doors flew open with a sharp _'BANG!', _and Professor Quirrell stumbled through, pale as a ghost and looking so _terrified _that it raised the hackles on the back of Harry's neck.

"T-Troll! Troll in the dungeons! J-Just thought you ought to know."

Hundreds of eyes watched in horror as their _Defense _teacher fainted in front of them, but then someone screamed, and it was chaos all around Harry as he sat still in his seat.

Dumbledore calmed down the students with a flick of his wand and ordered the prefects to take everyone to their Common Rooms, and yet the only thing on Harry's mind as they were walking, after he had glanced around, was that Hermione wasn't there.

"Ron! Ron, Hermione's not here!" Ron paled. "She doesn't know about the troll!"

_(to think such an insignificant troll would cause such an impact on you. how amusing)_

.

* * *

.

Quirrell was behind him, forcing him to look into the mirror, and Harry watched in fascination as his reflection winked and pocketed the stone. Harry felt the stone's weight rest against his leg, and it reminded him all too much of how real the danger was.

"What do you see?" Quirrell practically hissed.

Harry stuttered, "I-I see myself winning the House Cup. Dumbledore's shaking my hand."

"Useless!" Quirrell pushed Harry to the floor, and started pacing in front of the mirror.

_"He liesssssss." _A voice that was neither Quirrell's nor Harry's joined them, and Harry nearly felt like fainting.

_(you would have been a great Hufflepuff, you're so pathetic it's sad)_

.

* * *

.

Somehow Harry lived, now he was staring at the roof of the Hospital Wing after his talk with Dumbledore.

_'He did know. He did know how I lived.'_

_(oh? maybe you're learning.)_

.

* * *

.

_'What a depressing way to die.' _Harry thought to himself as he looked around his room, with its padlocked door and barred window. _'Of starvation and captivity.'_

_(wouldn't be the first time)_

.

* * *

.

Tom Riddle was standing in front of Harry with a sinister grin on his face, as Harry's eyesight blurred from the poison. _'Help, someone.' _Even his thoughts weren't clear. _'Please.'_

Fawkes was flying down the pipe, and soon he was battering away the angry Riddle, but Harry couldn't tell. Harry wasn't breathing.

_(of course, as the master of death, you can't really die, but this does get rather boring after a while)_

.

* * *

.

Harry woke up in his cupboard, holding his head and rubbing his eyes. Light was just beginning to peek through the bottom of the door, and it shone on his old broken toys that used to belong to Dudley and on the spiders that lived in the far corner.

He pushed his glasses up onto his eyes and looked down at his hands.

_'Something... doesn't feel right.'_

_(p__eople have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn't, and not remembering things when they should)_

.

* * *

.

**_I had such a terrible time writing this, it took me like literally six tries on both GD and on here each, and I'm still not at all happy with this. I've forgotten how to write, oh dear._**

**_Written for QL: Luscious, beginning, and 'people have an annoying habit of remembering things they shouldn't. Also using Merl's favorite character which is Harry, obviously._**

**_I don't own HP._**


End file.
